Less than four years ago, Kaiya Pelletier was homeless. In three weeks, she’ll be on stage as a finalist for Beaverton Teen Idol, a vocal competition and fundraiser for HomePlate Youth Services. The nonprofit based in Hillsboro is a drop-in center that serves young homeless people.

For Pelletier, who turned to music as a refuge during her time without a home, this means she’ll be able to use her voice and guitar to help other local kids, teens and young adults struggling with their homelessness.

In 2010, Pelletier’s mother had lost her job as a media producer in Austin, Texas. Pelletier, 14 at the time, said she remembers walking into the living room of her childhood home to find her mother reading an eviction notice.

After spending a night at a friend’s and then living out of a tent at a campsite for the rest of the summer, Pelletier said they spontaneously decided to move to Portland, where they could start fresh.

For two years, they lived off her mother’s unemployment benefits while renting out downstairs areas of houses, one of which they saw on Craigslist, Pelletier said. She said they lived on food stamps for most of that time, and also shopped at food pantries. After two years, her mother had maxed out her unemployment extensions, and the two lived without an income for several weeks, she said.

Pelletier’s mother has since found a job, and now they live in an apartment in Beaverton.

“I think we were just relieved that we were able to finally be able to be in a place we could finally call our own,” Pelletier said. “The unknown of it all was scary.”

Beaverton Teen Idol Finale

When: 7 p.m. Friday, May 16

Where: Southridge High School auditorium, 9625 SW 125th Ave,Beaverton

Tickets: $5 at the door - all proceeds go to HomePlate Youth Services

Pelletier said she’s happy with the way life is turning out. Now 17 and a junior at Sunset High School, since starting at the school, she’s served on student leadership and run cross country. Now, she’s a finalist in Beaverton Teen Idol.

Auditioning for the yearly competition was a no-brainer for Pelletier, who plans to focus on her music career after she finishes at Sunset. She’s recorded several original songs already, which are available to listen to on SoundCloud.com.

For lack of a more precise term, Pelletier defines her music as indie folk. She started teaching herself to sing and play guitar while she and her mother were struggling to find a permanent place to live, she said. When she started taking choir her sophomore year at Sunset, Pelletier fell in love with singing and performing.

“Doing Beaverton Teen Idol, I really wanted to share my music with people,” she said. “Even if I didn’t win, I wanted to share that.”

At semifinals April 19, she sang “Not Gonna Change,” one of her original songs. Instead of being nervous, Pelletier said she felt right at home on stage in front of a crowd.

“It’s weird because some people get stage fright, but I love being on stage and performing,” she said. “When I’m on stage I feel very at home, and it’s calm and peaceful.”

At the competition’s finals on Friday, May 16, Pelletier, one of nine finalists, plans on singing “Hold On,” another original song.

She wrote that song several months ago to remind herself to hold out for hope even when times are tough, she said. Many of her songs deal with her experience with homelessness, and refusing to let that affect the person you are at your core, she said.

At the April 19 semifinals, Pelletier told the crowd about her experience with homelessness.

“It felt really good to be able to share that side of me to people,” she said. “It’s an interesting story to share, because not a lot of people have had that experience.”

And people responded to Pelletier’s story: So far, the contest has raised $800 for HomePlate Youth Services, and coordinators aim to raise $4,000 to help young people cope with homelessness.